In a conventional third generation (3G) wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA) system, one or more digital signal processor (DSP) based Rake receivers are used to minimize distortion of signals when communicating between a base station (BS) and a plurality of wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs). A search for multi-paths in such a W-CDMA system is performed to improve reception characteristics by insuring that a desired power level is maintained.
In a Rake receiver where a plurality of Rake fingers are used, it is necessary to quickly and reliably find new multi-paths to promote a low false alarm/high detection probability under a variety of fading conditions. For any given WTRU, it is desired to assign the best multi-paths to the Rake receiver fingers at any given moment in time based on established priorities. Measurement tolerances and errors, particularly with regard to phase, must be taken into consideration.
It is desirable to implement a Rake receiver finger assignment (FA) and multi-path search process that is more efficient and requires fewer resources than those used in conventional systems.